Arabs and Israelis mull regional free-trade pact

By Jonathan H. Ferziger
The Circuit
July 12, 2023

"Nearly three years after establishing diplomatic ties, representatives from a group of Arab countries and Israel met in Bahrain to brainstorm ideas about forming a regional free-trade alliance.

"The discussions were unofficial and meant to lay the groundwork for future negotiations among the countries that normalized relations with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords. 

"The talks provided an opportunity for government representatives to discuss concrete steps for advancing normalization face-to-face at a time when such encounters have become less frequent. A meeting of the U.S.-backed Negev Forum, comprising the foreign ministers of the seven countries, has been repeatedly postponed this year amid violent eruptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that have been strongly condemned by the Arab countries in the N7.

"Increasing the potential impact of the N7 project is the fact that it was directed until last month by Daniel Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel. Shapiro was appointed on June 29 to be the State Department’s senior advisor on regional integration. In his announcement, Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Shapiro’s task was to help 'deepen and broaden the Abraham Accords, and build the Negev Forum.'"

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